Diamond and Smoke
by Gwen Harkness
Summary: George and Nina's baby is born dead, can George hold it together and stay strong for the both of them or will it prove too much to handle? Sorry, not great at summaries, better one inside. George/Nina & Mitchell/Annie. Please R&Rxxx
1. Feather

A_/N: The idea for this story came to me when I was re-watching the episode from the second series where George realises he's given Nina the curse. They are in the hospital, Nina is stood up over George and George is sobbing on the floor. In stereotypical relationships (Annie and Mitchell's for example), it would have been Nina sobbing with George holding it together to comfort her, no matter how guilty he felt. However, it seems in George and Nina's relationship, Nina has always been the stronger one. She's the one telling George everything's going to be okay while George is an emotional wreck, quivering in a corner.  
>So I wondered, what would happen if the tables were turned? What if, George was forced to be the strong one for once? When Nina's baby is born dead she is in pieces. George must find a way to hold it together and pull both of them through this.<em>  
><em>Set after series three except Herrick never came back setting off the chain of events that lead to Mitchell's death. Nina's about five months pregnant, but accounting for the weird werewolf gestation period that's almost full term in size for a human.<br>Pairings are George/Nina and Mitchell/Annie. Also friendship pairings are Mitchell/George and Annie/Nina.  
>There are some disturbing themes, sensitive topics and a few quite horrific descriptions towards the end that people may find upsetting so I'm really really sorry if I upset anyone. It's not supposed to be a happy little jolly so if that's what you want that's not really what you're going to get. There's some jokey bits in this first chapter but that's about it. This has taken me ages though so I really really hope you like it. I know lots of people don't like Nina but actually I find her very interesting, and even if you don't like her this story isn't just about her. I have snippets of Annie and Mitchell because I seriously love them and there's quite a lot of George too.<br>Thanks to the BBC for making Being Human, I don't own it.  
>Enjoyxxx<em>

* * *

><p>Nina sat in the armchair, her knees pulled up close to her chest. Her arms were wound around them to form a cradle in the gap between. In that cradle rested a tiny bundle, wrapped in white, blood smeared sheets.<p>

Nina's face was the picture of perfect grief. Tears stained her cheeks but her expression was blank. She just stared straight ahead, eyes dead. Her dark blonde hair was scraped back off her face in a messy ponytail. Blood matted the strands that had fallen loose and her fingers were stained red. Her body was wrapped tightly in blankets yet she shivered violently. Multiple cups of tea and coffee were sat on the table beside her, untouched and long since cold. Annie stood behind the chair. Her hand fluttered by Nina's shoulder, trying to think of something, _anything_, she could say to comfort the tormented woman.

Nina's eyes flickered for a second as she flashed back to the night before. She smiled briefly, immersed in the memory.

* * *

><p>"Well er... I guess I better be off then..." George dithered about by the door with his bag slung over his shoulder. Nina couldn't help but laugh at him.<p>

"What?" George asked defiantly.

"Nothing," Nina rolled her eyes, trying to conceal her smile. "See you tomorrow."

He gave her a quick peck on the lips and opened the door slightly. He paused, "You will be alright, won't you?" His voice rose slightly, shaking.

Nina smiled and rolled her eyes again. "Of course I will. We've only done this about half a million times."

"But what about..."

"If anything was going to happen, it would've by now," she cut him off, her hand fluttering gently to her large bump. "Now _go_! It's full moon in an hour."

"I love you," George smiled.

"And I love you too. Now _go_!" Nina replied, exasperated. Eventually, the door closed and George was gone.

"At last!" Annie cried from the sofa where she was sat, Mitchell's arm casually wound round her shoulder.

"I thought he was _never_ going to leave!" Mitchell grinned.

"If he's not careful he's going to end up changing in the middle of the living room one of these days" Nina said with a smile.

"Wouldn't want that again..." Annie said wistfully, thinking back to their house in Bristol. "Never did get rid of those scratch marks on the skirting board..."

"Well, if you ask me," Mitchell began, a cheeky glint in his eye, "I think he wants you two to transform together again. I heard last time it was... Interesting..."

"Mitchell!" Annie scolded, slapping the back of his hand playfully.

"Ugh..." Nina mock shivered and pulled a face, "Please, Mitchell. Never bring that up ever again. I'm trying my best to erase the whole experience from my mind... I do love George but that… _That _was just kind of weird."

Suddenly, Annie leapt up, grinning like a child on Christmas morning. "Nina, I've bought something for you," she announced proudly.

"You _bought_ something?" Mitchell asked. "Isn't that kind of hard with... You know? The whole... Ghost thing?"

Annie slapped him lightly on the arm and gave him her best evil glare. "Stop being so _deadist_! I left the money on the till. But that's not the point! I was going to save it for another time when we were all together but I can't wait _anymore!_" Annie beamed and promptly vanished. A couple of seconds later they heard her rummaging around her bedroom and within minutes she was back downstairs clutching a yellow plastic bag tightly in her hand.

"Open it! Open it! Open it!" Annie squealed, practically bursting with excitement.

"I could always leave it until tomorrow when George gets back..." Nina teased. "Wouldn't want him missing the surprise..."

"No!" Annie shouted adamantly. "Open it, _now!_"

"Go on then, Nina," Mitchell sighed. "Before our living room gets covered in exploded ghost."

Annie thrust the bag into Nina's lap. Nina opened it slowly, peering inside through the gap in the top so no one else could see.

"Oh, Annie," she pulled a beautiful white baby grow from the bag and laid it out gently on her lap, smoothing the creases.

"If you don't like it I can take it back or change it for a different colour. Obviously I didn't know if you were having a boy or a girl so I got it in white because I thought a boy or a girl could wear white. I thought maybe the yellow but it had a picture of a cat on the front and that just seemed sort of..." Annie was wittering, flapping her hands about to help explain.

"No, Annie. It's lovely; really thoughtful. I love it and I'm sure George will too," Nina paused before finishing softly, "It's the first thing anyone's bought us for our baby…"

There was a beat of silence before Annie and Nina began an animated conversation about baby names while Mitchell sighed, rolled his eyes and switched on The Real Hustle.

"Nina?" Mitchell said about twenty minutes later, nodding towards the clock.

"Oh," Nina said a little sadly. "Well I suppose I'll see you in the morning. Night Annie, Mitchell."

She folded the baby grow and replaced it in the bag, "Annie, could you look after this for me?"

Annie nodded and smiled encouragingly, "Good luck."

"Thanks," and with that, Nina stood up, handed the bag to Annie, gave them a little wave and left the room.

She descended the stairs to the basement, flicking the light on. She locked the door tightly behind her, stripped off and stood in the middle of the room, shivering.

"We should really get some central heating down here," Nina said out loud, trying to fill the silence around her.

She took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself. No matter how many times she changed, Nina knew she would never get used to the unbearable pain that ripped through her body in a transformation.

Mitchell had tried to explain it to her once, what was happening to her. How her heart stopped and shrunk, all her internal organs shut down. Apparently she should've been dead in thirty seconds but something stopped it. But during those thirty seconds the pain was so terrible she ended up wishing she was dead anyway. _Apparently_, it's a miracle, her body ripping and shredding to reform as The Wolf. _Apparently_, knowing all this was meant to make Nina feel better. It never did. To her it was still the excruciating agony it had always been; fire, ripping through her body, tearing her apart. The only thing that seemed to offer her any comfort in it all was the knowledge that somewhere, George was feeling the exact same thing. Not that she took pleasure in George's pain, but that they were both united in the transition. Their movements identical. It was nature, bonding them across any distance.

Nina closed her eyes. She could feel it in every fibre of her body. Then the first wave hit her. She dropped to her knees, crying out in pain.

* * *

><p>Mitchell hovered by the front door nervously. He glanced over at Annie, meeting her eyes. Sympathetic tears dappled her face. Mitchell forced a smile which she returned with a weak one of her own.<p>

"Annie," Mitchell said in a low murmur. He took a step towards the door to the stairs and indicated to her to follow him.

Annie moved to the front of the chair and crouched down in front of Nina, desperately trying not to look at the tiny bundle in her arms. Her voice trembled violently, "I'll be one minute. I'm just out there if you need me..."

Annie searched Nina's eyes for any sign the woman had heard her. Nina's face remained blank. Annie sighed a little and stood up, following Mitchell out.

As soon as they were out of hearing distance of Nina, Mitchell enveloped Annie in a hug. He felt her body go limp in his arms, shaking with tiny little sobs. Annie had never been strong; it didn't take much to hurt her. Mitchell knew that better than most people. She was so affected by the emotions and situations of people around her.

"Mitchell..." Annie whimpered. "What about George? How're we going to tell him?"

"Annie," Mitchell soothed, "I think we have to leave that to Nina."

"But she's not even speaking!" Annie said desperately, she looked up to meet his eyes.

"She's in shock. She's going to be fine. As soon as George gets here he'll know exactly what to do," Mitchell replied, trying to sound confident.

"But George will just make it worse! He'll never be able to hold it together..." Annie said worriedly.

"I'll talk to him... It'll be fine," Mitchell said, hoping what he said was true.

At last Annie nodded, "We should really try and... Clean her up..." She paused. "Mitchell, I think we should her to hospital."

"No," Mitchell shot back, "Absolutely not."

"But her baby's dead, Mitchell! We don't even know what happened! We should at least check she's going to be okay…"

"Annie, no. We'd be putting every werewolf on this planet in danger. I know what they're like at hospitals, they'll do tests and take samples and then when they realise she's not the same, they'll hurt her. You saw what they did to Sasha and her friends..." Mitchell and Annie shivered at the memory.

"I still think we should at least..." Annie began. But she was cut off by Mitchell.

"What was that noise?"

"What noise?"

Mitchell listened for a second, "It's George. He's back."

As if on cue, the front door swung open and a cheerful voice rung through the house, "Hello!"

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><p><em>AN: So what did you think? Please review, I've worked for ages on this and I'd love to know what you think. I've already written nearly all the chapters for this, I've just got to write the last bit of the last chapter and the epilogue (if I do one, I think I will) and then it's finished. So I can post the next one whenever I want. But I'll only post it if you like it. Because obviously… No point if you didn't, so get reviewing!_


	2. Stone

_A/N: Exactly a week later and here I am with another update. Warning for this one though, there are some really quite horrific bits and some sad bits too. I felt I needed it to be horrific to really get across how awful it is but I promise I'm not trying to shock or offend anyone.  
>Secondly, thank you so much for all your support for the last chapter. I got five really nice reviews which was lovely, thank you so much to you five. I love you all so much! I'd really really like it if I could get as many this time, perhaps even more! I won't be one of those cruel authors that makes you get a certain amount of reviews to upload the next chapter, I'm just going to have faith in you lot that you'll do the right and review so don't prove me wrong!<br>Finally, thanks to the BBC for making Being Human, I don't own it.  
>Enjoyxxx<em>

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><p>Mitchell and Annie glanced at each other, waiting for George's inevitable cry of realisation.<p>

"Nina! Nina…?"

They heard George's tone fall as he caught sight of the young woman. "Nina? What happened? Why are you covered in blood? What's in that blanket?" There was a moment of silence followed by George's cries. "No. No. No… Mitchell? Annie?"

Mitchell took Annie's hand and pulled her through the door into the room. Nina hadn't moved, despite George dithering around her as he grew more and more frantic.

"Mitchell," George's voice was slow and steady, as if he was hanging on to his last shred of sanity, "What happened to her?"

Mitchell began slowly, "George... I'm so sorry."

"There was nothing we could do…" Annie said, sounding more like she was begging. She tightened her grip on Mitchell's hand. "She was just lying there in the basement screaming. There was all this blood… The baby was so cold. We didn't know what to do..."

"Nina… What happened?" George fought to control his voice; he knew if he let it break, he might never stop crying.

But Nina didn't respond.

George turned to Mitchell, his voice rising to new tones of desperation he didn't even know he had in him, "What happened to my baby!"

"He was dead already, he had been a while… There was nothing we could do. I'm so sorry, George," Mitchell tried to remain calm while winding his arm round Annie, trying to stop her falling apart.

"So you just wrapped him in a blanket and gave him to her like there was nothing wrong?" George practically shouted, making Annie jump.

"She wouldn't let go of him! We did our best!" Mitchell protested, his hand reaching to sooth the shivering ghost.

"Why didn't you help him! Why didn't you take him to hospital? Why did you just leave him? Why-" George stopped dead.

The silence hung over the room like a thick fog. No one dared to say anything for fear of George's response. So it was he who finally spoke.

In a strangled tone he whispered, "It's a 'him'?"

And then he burst into tears.

George's howls of anguish filled the room as he sunk down to the floor. For a whole minute he just sat there, his sobs relentless. Every fibre of his body was wrapped in grief. He was drowning in the heart wrenching sorrow that seemed almost to weigh him down. He was shrouded in despair. It clung to him like tar. Huge tears streamed down his face like endless waterfalls. It felt as if it could go on forever.

Then a voice broke through the tears. A voice so ragged and tortured that no one could've recognised it as human had they not seen her speak.

"George… Stop," Nina said softly.

And George stopped.

"Annie," Mitchell said softly, realising their need for privacy. The ghost seemed almost frozen. Mitchell took her hand, reanimating her, and led her out of the room.

George and Nina looked at each other, his tear-filled eyes meeting her dead ones. Almost unconsciously, George stretched his hand out towards the tiny bundle cradled protectively in Nina's arms. When his hand met the blanket she flinched, but didn't stop him. He reached for the tiny hand, just visible through swaddling.

George took a sharp breathe as his warm finger met with their baby's ice cold hand.

His voice trembled with tears, "Can I hold him?"

She hesitated before giving the slightest nod. With a tiny tearless sob, Nina opened her arms, allowing George to take the precious baby. As soon as it left her arms she seemed to crumple in on herself, but her eyes were still fixed on the ice cold child.

"Oh Nina… What happened?" George asked once again.

Nina allowed the question to hang in the air a moment before she offered an answer, "I don't know…"

"Please," George almost begged.

"I woke up and he was just…" Nina was trembling. She continued, the next part sounding almost like an apology, "He was so tiny George, and so cold…"

Pain seemed to rip across her face. When she didn't speak she could almost keep the memory out. But as soon as she mentioned it, grief so fresh flooded her body, making it impossible to forget. The memory burnt through her like fire, destroying everything in its path.

* * *

><p>The first thing Nina had been aware of that morning when she awoke was pain. It was the most agonising, excruciating pain slicing through her abdomen. She cried out involuntarily. It was unbearable, like nothing she had ever felt before. Her hands flew to her stomach, applying pressure, trying desperately to stop the torturous throbbing. But she slipped. Her hand reached past her stomach for the floor and brushed a pool of warm sticky liquid that seemed to surround her.<p>

She struggled to her knees, vision blurred with pain, but she saw it. A deep crimson painted the floor around her.

Blood.

It was in her hair. Covered her hands. She knew where it had come from instantly. Her senses, still heightened by her transformation, recognised the scent immediately. The blood was her own. And there was only one reason it could be there.

Nina screamed as tears began pouring down her face. She twisted her body so she was sitting up. But there, in front of her lay a tiny, tiny baby. Its white skin was tinted blue and horrifically stained with red blood. It was so small. She felt the pain fade in her middle to almost nothing. It didn't matter anymore. It was like an unimportant buzz in the back of her mind.

She struggled desperately towards it and with shaking hands she lifted its tiny bloody form and pulled it in close.

"Baby?" she whispered, almost unable to believe the truth. "Please breathe… Please, please, please. Open your eyes sweetheart, open them for Mummy. Please, sweetie. Please?"

Through tears she began shouting at the lifeless child. "Stop this! Stop this now! Stop it! Please! Please! Please, please, please. Don't!"

Her pleas dissolved quickly in to sobs, shaking her whole body. She pulled the tiny limp child closer so it was wrapped in the warmth of her body. She screamed over and over, rocking back and forth, her shrieks ringing through the building.

When they had been sold the house they had been told the basement was soundproof. This, they had discovered later, wasn't exactly the truth. It was soundproof to an extent, but not enough to block the sound of Nina's cries. Mitchell and Annie heard them instantly and came running.

"Nina?" Mitchell shouted as he pushed the door open.

"What's wro-" Annie stopped dead as she saw all the blood and subsequently the young woman sat in the middle of it clutching a tiny body.

Nina screamed again, her pleas no longer coherent.

* * *

><p>Silent tears rolled down George's face as he rocked the lifeless baby gently in his arms. He was so tiny, but yet so perfect. His little fingers, little toes, little nose. There was the slightest wisp of feather soft hair on his head, but that too was matted with blood.<p>

"I can't…" George struggled with the words. He felt more tears trickle down his cheeks and, giving the child back to Nina, he ran from the room.

Mitchell and Annie were stood just by the door, his arm wound round her shoulder, talking in hushed voices. They instantly fell silent and watched as George ran up the stairs.

"Go and watch Nina," Mitchell told Annie. "I have to speak to George."

Annie didn't move, desperation filling her eyes.

"I love you," Mitchell said softly. It was the only thing he knew for sure would give her any kind of reassurance.

Annie nodded silently, mouthing what Mitchell could just make out as: "You too."

Trusting that she was going to be okay, he mounted the stairs to George's room.

Annie, meanwhile, approached Nina slowly. She held a cup of tea in her hand. Annie stopped a few paces behind the chair, frozen.

Nina still hadn't moved but her body was turned in more than before and she was whispering softly to the baby in her arms, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

Mitchell had told her just to keep an eye her but Annie couldn't bear to just stand and watch her. She had never seen Nina like this. When she'd first become a werewolf it was Annie she had confided in, she knew what she'd been through. She'd been a mess, but she'd found the strength to get through it. Annie didn't know where that strength had come from; it was something she'd never had while she'd been alive. Nina always seemed to manage, somehow or another. But, Annie had never known Nina to fall apart this way before. It frightened her. It upset the balance of everything she'd grown used to. Watching her now, she was a wreck. Tears stained her pale face and her whole body shook with each word whispered softly to the baby. And Annie wasn't sure how she would ever pull through this.

"Nina?" Annie said softly after a couple of minutes. Nina jumped and fell silent once more.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Annie apologised, setting the tea down on the table and kneeling next to her. "How are you feeling?"

Nina turned her head slightly to look at Annie and nodded blankly. The ghost was unsure she had even heard the question properly.

Annie offered her a small smile. "Can I get you anything? Toast, maybe?"

Nina shook her head wordlessly. They sat in silence for a while, Annie desperately searching for something to fill the gap. But it was Nina who spoke first.

"Why?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with tears. "Why him?"

"I… I don't know…" Annie was almost afraid to speak. "I'm so sorry Nina."

"But he was so beautiful… So perfect... He wasn't meant to…" she trailed off, rubbing her finger softly in a circular motion on the top of the little boy's head. She looked almost enchanted.

Annie nodded in understanding, "I'll be one minute."

She rose to her feet and padded softly across to the bar. She filled a bowl with water and soap and took a cloth. Kneeling at Nina's feet, Annie took her hands and began to clean the blood off them.

When her hands were clean, Nina wordlessly took the cloth from Annie and slowly, with great care, began to unwrap the tiny child. And ever so gently she wiped the cloth over his body, cleaning him. Annie watched with a mixture of awe and anguish. When the baby was clean, Nina looked up to meet Annie's eye.

"Annie, he's so cold… Help me," Nina whimpered. Annie looked back at her, searching her mind for some words of reassurance to offer the bereaved woman. But really, in this situation, there were no words strong enough stitch the wounds. There was only one thing she could think of, it wouldn't help but it might make things just a tiny bit more bearable.

Annie nodded to Nina and disappeared suddenly from the room. But within seconds she had returned, holding a yellow plastic bag. She opened the bag and took out the white baby grow she had bought yesterday.

As she saw it Nina's eyes widened, almost unsure what to make of it. For a second Annie was frightened. _What if she'd just made it worse?_ But soon the uncertainty in the woman's eye's dissolved and she stretched out her shaking hand to take the garment.

She gently dressed the baby, almost as if he was made of china. When it was done she wrapped him back in her arms, cradling him gently. Annie felt tears trickle down her cheeks again; she bit down hard on her bottom lip, trying to hold it together.

"Thank you," Nina said. And Annie swore she saw her eyes warm, just a little, for the first time that morning. Annie gave her a small smile and folded her arm round Nina, resting her head on her shoulder.

They sat in silence together for what felt like an eternity, comforted by each other's presence.

Finally, Nina spoke. "Annie, I have to tell you something…"

* * *

><p>Mitchell knocked tentatively on the door of George's room. There was no response. He pushed the door open gently. George was sat on Nina's side of the bed, staring it the wall blankly.<p>

"George?"

George jumped at the sound of Mitchell's voice before mumbling, "What?"

"You need to talk to her George."

"I… I tried..."

"She needs you, George. More than ever."

"I can't…" George whimpered.

"She needs your support; you've got to be strong, for her. She'll never cope with this if you don't help her." Mitchell took a deep breath.

"But I don't know what to do, Mitchell."

"Yes you do. You're the only one who can really understand how she's feeling now. You are the only other person on this Earth who has also lost that little boy. Talk to her," Mitchell told him compassionately.

"But I…" George protested.

Mitchell simply looked at him and shook his head sadly.

George paused, as if searching for the right words. But instead he rose shakily to his feet, nodded and gave Mitchell a small, tearful smile. "Thank you."

Suddenly a cry came from downstairs.

"Mitchell!" Annie shouted; her voice laced with terror.

"Annie?" Mitchell shouted back. He knew that tone of voice. There was something wrong. Really wrong. He ran down the stairs followed closely by George. Annie met them at the door. Her eyes were wide, filled with a frantic fear.

"Nina's still bleeding, badly. We don't have any choice Mitchell; we have to take her to hospital."

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><p><em>AN: Thoughts?_


	3. Cloud

_A/N: Well, what d'ya know? It's Thursday evening. I'm posting again! I'm getting quite good at this actually. I usually have lots of chapters published in one go because I can't wait to see what you think and then I get stuck and there's a huge gap between the next one. But hey! I'm actually managing to post this completely regularly!  
>Thank you so much to pillowbox, Cheals, cemeterydreamer and someone else who didn't leave a name for their lovely reviews on the last chapter. Only got four for the last one which I guess I was a little sad about, was hoping for more than the first chapter or at least the same amount. I'd love to hear from you, what you liked, what you didn't, any little mistakes, anything.<br>Thanks to the BBC for making Being Human, I don't own it.  
>Enjoyxxx<em>

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><p>"W-w-what?" George stammered, horrified. He pushed his way past Annie to where Nina was sitting.<p>

She looked terrified. Her face was even paler than before and she was glancing around wildly, her eyes filled with paranoia. In all the time George had known Nina he had never seen her looking so awful. He reached for the phone to call for an ambulance but something stopped him. He glanced at the child in her arms and froze. He looked _so_ perfect. He was clean and neat and wore a beautiful white baby grow. He was everything George had ever imagined in his son. He stared at the little boy. This morning his body had been covered in blood and there was no mistaking that he was long dead but now he looked almost as if he could just be sleeping.

"Annie," said Mitchell in the background, "You know we can't take her!"

"No! There's no way we're just leaving her, Mitchell! Look at the state of her! There's something really wrong. She has to see someone, _now,_" Annie argued back. She stepped into the room beside George who was still stood, mesmerized by the child.

"But they'll ask too many questions! When Tom went to hospital it was different. Nina controlled what tests were done. She made sure the information didn't get into the wrong hands. But, in case you hadn't noticed, she's not exactly in the best state to do that right now. Anyway, when he was in hospital at least it was for a normal injury. A _human _injury. If what happened to their baby is anything to do with The Wolf then they'll be all over it in seconds... There has to be something else we can do for her here, I'll call someone. I know doctors who understand her… Condition. They can look at her," Mitchell promised her.

"No! She's already been bleeding all morning and she's only getting worse! God knows how much blood she's lost by now. If we don't get her to a hospital soon she might die, Mitchell! Is that what you want?" Annie stopped for a breath before saying angrily, "I can't even believe this we're having this conversation! Staying here is out of the question. Tell him George! George?"

"W-what?" George jumped, shocked from his thoughts by Annie.

"Tell Mitchell he's being stupid," Annie ordered.

"Mitchell, you're being stupid," George muttered obediently before realising what he had said. "Wait, what?"

"Nina's still bleeding George," Annie said, softer this time. "We need to get her to a hospital."

"Then what's everyone doing?" George said, snatching up the phone immediately and dialling the number for emergency services.

"Geor-" Mitchell began to protest, but he was cut off.

"Shut up, Mitchell! Just shut up!" George shouted at him, furious. "You do not even _know_ what I have been through this morning! I have lost my _son_, Mitchell! My _son! _Do you even _know_ what that feels like? Everything, all you ever wanted, ripped away in a second! Do you _know_ what that feels like? Do you? Do you? I've lost too much today and I am not about to lose Nina too because of your secret vampire bullshit!"

"George, please. Just let me-"

"No, Mitchell. Don't bother. I don't want to hear it," said George, his voice softer, sadder almost. He hit the green button on the phone and lifted it to his ear. After a couple of seconds he said shakily, "Yes, ambulance please."

Mitchell sighed. Annie watched him reproachfully and he couldn't help but feel guilty. Back in Bristol when Herrick was in charge he didn't have to worry. He knew, whatever happened, whatever he did, Herrick would always be there to pick up the pieces. The system in place was corrupt and people got hurt, but it worked efficiently. Nothing slipped through. They were safe. But the thought now of having to do Herrick's job and sort out any mess they created terrified Mitchell. He knew Nina had to go to hospital; even if, in the end she was medically fine. Emotionally, she needed the help. But as soon as they stepped inside that hospital, Mitchell wasn't sure he could protect them. And the thought of anything happening to his friends scared him more than Herrick ever could when he was alive.

"T-thanks." He paused. "Honolulu Heights, Number Eight, Cannon Street, Barry, The Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The postcode is CF622 7BB. It's 01446 405298." He ran off the details almost like a mantra, as if it those words alone would help the situation.

There was a couple of seconds of silence as the operator replied. George's face, that he had fought so hard to keep expressionless, began to waver.

He took deep breath and attempted to steady his voice. "My girlfriend, she was um… Eight months pregnant," he lied. "Our son was born early this morning and he… Died… But she, she's been bleeding heavily since and it-it's getting worse," George managed to choke out.

George walked over to behind the arm chair to rest his hand comfortingly on Nina's shoulder. When he had been explaining to phone operator what had happened he had stood as far away from her as possible. His body had been turned away, almost as if he had been saying something offensive that he didn't want her to hear.

"Yeah, I'm with her now. No, I'm George Sands. Her name's Nina Pickering, she's twenty-eight. Yes, she's conscious Yes. No. No. Yes." There was a short pause before George said, "Th-thanks."

He hung up and spun round to glare Mitchell. In a sharp tone he said, "Go and wait for the ambulance outside."

Mitchell gave a low, angry grunt before leaving the house, slamming the door behind him.

He put the phone down and came to kneel in front of Nina, "It's going to be fine, baby. I've called an ambulance, they're going to come and they're going to sort you out."

"No…" Nina said softly.

"What?" George looked puzzled.

"I don't want to go anywhere, George." She paused, breathing heavily. Her voice grow slightly more hysterical. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Shhh, it's okay, it's okay," George soothed, coming to sit on the arm of the chair beside her. "Nobody's going to make you go anywhere you don't want to. Just wait for the ambulance to arrive, it's going to be fine…"

Nina nodded and George wrapped his arm gently round her shoulders. Her body visibly relaxed at his touch and her head flopped weakly against him.

Annie stood a few metres away, watching in amazement. Whatever Mitchell had said upstairs must've had an impact because George had become a man Annie had never seen before. Nina looked almost comforted. He seemed reassuring and protective. He was no longer a sobbing wreck on the floor. Sure, he looked frightened but he'd managed to force Mitchell into submission for the woman he loved and hold it together on the phone and for Nina when it was obvious he was ripping apart. In a way, today, George had changed. He'd learnt something that no other experience in life could've taught him. For the first time, he was in control.

"Annie," George said softly as not to shock Nina. "Can you go get Nina something to put on so she's not just wearing these blankets," he said.

Annie nodded understandingly and vanished from the room. She reappeared a couple of minutes later with a long baggy black shirt that would fall to Nina's knees and an even bigger black jumper.

"Sorry," she apologised. "This was the best I could find for her with her…"

"No, that's fine. Thanks Annie." He gave her a reassuring, if slightly wobbly, smile, before turning back to Nina.

Annie handed him the clothes and walked through to the kitchen to give them a bit of privacy, no doubt making more tea.

"Nina," George said slowly, "The paramedics are going to be here soon, I think you'd be best putting these on."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said anxiously.

"No, no, no. Of course not, I just think you'd be better wearing these," George replied, turning away so he didn't have to meet her eyes. He felt guilty lying to her but he knew he had to keep her calm or she might just lose it completely. And, to be honest, he didn't think he had the capacity left to argue with her anyway.

He pulled the blankets down from her shoulders to round her waist He gasped slightly, realising quite how much blood there was. He took a shaky breath, pulling the shirt over her head. She still clung onto the baby, allowing him to only slip one arm in at a time. But her resistance was noticeably weaker than before. The shirt fell loosely over her still visible bump. It looked much smaller than before but it was still very noticeable. She winced as he touched her stomach.

"Does that hurt, Nina?" George asked suspiciously. She shook her head, biting down hard on her lip.

He pulled the baggy fleece round her as gently as he could manage, sweeping the blankets away completely so she was just sitting on them. With a sigh of relief George heard the sounds of sirens in the distance as they got closer. He put his arm protectively round Nina. Finally she was beginning to shiver less, but George wasn't sure if that was just because she literally didn't have the energy anymore.

George heard the ambulance pull up outside and Mitchell greet them, leading them in. He felt Nina tense in his arms as the men in uniforms walked in. She looked at them, terrified. She should know what was going on, she worked at the hospital, but she watched them warily like a frightened child.

George kissed Nina on the head. "I just need to go and talk to the paramedics, I'll be right back."

"Er, ex-excuse me?" George said, his voice getting higher. The paramedics turned to him. There was a tall man with fair hair and a slightly shorter man with a receding hairline. "She's really frightened and she really doesn't want to go to hospital. If you can possibly treat her here that would be… Good..."

The taller man nodded. "We understand your concern, but I'll be honest with you. It's already looking like she's going to have to go to hospital, like it or not. But we'll do what we can here."

George gave them a gracious smile and they came straight over to her. Nina desperately reached out a shaking hand to George, he took it in his, doing his best to comfort her.

The fair haired man spoke first. "Okay Nina, we're going to have a look at you. Is that okay?"

Nina nodded hesitantly and the dark haired man began check her over.

"Can you explain to me what happened?" the fair haired man carried on.

"I…" Nina began, unable to finish as she began to cry. She shook her head through tears.

"Okay…" the man said slowly. "Mr Sands, could I speak to you? In private."

George nodded. Giving Nina's hand a squeeze, he rose to his feet and moved to the other side of the room to explain to the paramedic. The other doctor stayed with Nina. Annie stood behind her, unseen, with her hand on Nina's shoulder.

The shorter paramedic pressed his hands firmly against Nina's abdomen, checking for any abnormalities. Suddenly, with no warning, she screamed out in pain. Tears began pouring down her face.

"N-nina?" George was at her side in seconds, "W-w-what's wrong?"

"Okay," the fair haired paramedic told the other one quickly. "There's swelling in her lower abdomen. This bleeding isn't going to stop on its own; she's going to _have_ to go to hospital. Get her a stretcher. Oh and phone ahead and book a theatre slot, she needs to go in as soon as possible."

The other one nodded, returning to the ambulance.

"Nina? We're going to have to take you up to hospital," the paramedic told her gently.

"No! No! I'm not going anywhere!" she cried.

"Look, you do have the right to refuse treatment but we really don't recommend it. If you don't come to hospital there's a serious chance you could die. We could give you some sedative to make you feel a bit calmer but we can't do anything to you without your permission," the doctor explained.

"Nina, please," George begged. "Don't you get it? If you don't go then you'll _die_."

"I can't go, George," she said softly. "I can't leave him."

He took her hand in his, "You can bring him, just, please."

"No, you don't get it… He's here, George. He has to be. He'll be like Annie, with us forever." She paused and turned to Annie behind her, "Where is he, Annie? He's still here isn't he, he's still here."

George looked at her in horror. She genuinely believed their baby was still there as a ghost, the way Annie had been. Just sitting there, alone. How could she wish that on their child? It was so cruel. But it made George think, just for a second, what if he was there, somewhere? What if they could have him as a baby forever? What if his perfect little boy was really there waiting for him? What if this was how it was mean to be?

The paramedic watched Nina as she talked blindly to, what looked like, thin air.

He turned to George. "I can call a physiatrist and try and have her sectioned but we'd have to be quick... "

"No, she's not crazy! She's just…" George sighed. He glanced at Annie questioningly, wondering if there was any truth in what Nina said. Annie shook her head sadly and George felt his heart drop just a little further.

He was begging by now. "Please! He's not here, Nina! He's gone! Let it go for now! What you're doing isn't helping anyone! You're killing yourself; this isn't what he'd want!"

"How do you know what he'd _want_? He didn't get to _want_ anything! He was _so_ little!" she sobbed hysterically.

"I think even a tiny baby would know he didn't want his Mum dead!" George shouted at her. He turned back to the fair haired paramedic, "Right, call a physiatrist. I'm so sorry, Nina..."

"No," Nina said. "I'll go… But _promise_ me no one will cut him open."

"I promise. I promise I won't let anyone touch him, "George swore to her before muttering, "Oh, thank god."

"Okay, Nina," the paramedic said gently, as if he was speaking to a small child. "We're going to give you a big dose of Diazepam which is just a sedative and some morphine for the pain and then we're going to run you straight up to hospital. Is that okay?"

Nina nodded. "George, take him. Please…" She stretched out shaking hands and gave him the little lifeless child.

The dark haired paramedic took her now empty hand. It took him a couple of seconds to insert and IV into her vein. He then injected two chemicals in through the IV. Nina instantly felt her vision beginning to swim and she began to cry again.

"I feel sick…" she said, her words slightly slurred.

"Yeah, I'm afraid it does that," the doctor told her apologetically.

Nina stumbled to her feet from the chair. She fell quickly, unable to support her own weight. George caught her with his free arm, scolding her gently. But it was evident she couldn't really understand him anymore. The paramedics put her onto a stretcher and carried her out to the ambulance.

The room looked like the scene of a brutal murder. The amount of blood Nina had lost was painfully evident. George wondered how he had managed not to notice for that long. He was angry at himself for being so caught up in his own grief not to stop and make sure Nina was okay.

"Mitchell," George said quickly as he passed, "I'm… sorry. I'll meet you and Annie there."

Mitchell nodded. "It's okay," he said, hugging George as he left.

The door was slammed behind him as soon as he got in and they were gone in seconds. Nina was lying down in the back, hooked up to various monitors.

"Her heart rates beginning to fall," the paramedic in the back warned.

"It's going to be fine. It's all going to be fine," he promised her. She was talking nonsense by that point. He reached out to take her hand, kissing her gently. She was soon unconscious and it was only then that George allowed himself to cry.

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><p><em>AN: Sorry, by the way, if my description of the conversation to emergency services and what they would do in that situation wasn't exactly right. Luckily, I've never had to phone 999 or go in an ambulance so far so I don't actually know what it's like but I did my best Googling it. Oh and I'm no drugs expert and the name of the sedative Nina was given was pulled straight from Wikipedia so I'm sorry if that's not what they'd use._


	4. Steel

_A/N: Sorry for taking so long to get this posted! I sort of got lost with Christmas and the New Year and then the new series of Being Human. I've had this written for ages but I just completely forgot to post it!  
>Shorter chapter this time round and it's more of a filler but it explains a bit. Also, in this chapter I've focused a lot more on George, Mitchell and Annie and their reactions and interactions with each other, which is a nice contrast. I think the next chapter will probably be the last proper one, then I'll do an epilogue and that'll be it finished; which is a bit sad, because it's kind of like my baby. But it'll be nice to have it all done rather than just sitting there, going on forever and ever, never finishing.<br>Anyway, I really hope you like it and it inspires you to review because I always love reviews. It's been really nice to see your response so far although the number of reviews I'm getting for each chapter seems to be decreasing. Perhaps it's because people have already reviewed before and think they don't need to again, which is fair enough but I'd still love to see what you think and see you're not losing interest. But, a massive thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far, I seriously love you all.  
>Thanks to the BBC for making Being Human, I don't own it.<br>Enjoy._

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><p>By the time the ambulance had pulled into the hospital car park it had begun to rain heavily and the beginnings of a thunderstorm could be heard faintly in the distance. The ambulance screeched to a halt, the sirens dying with the sound of the engine. Rain pelted the roof, hammering down on it with increasing pressure. George's crying had begun to subside, and, with the help of a drip that had been set up on the journey there, Nina's heart rate had increased, dragging her into consciousness. But she was still far from being in touch with reality. She did have the occasional lucid moment in which she looked up at George, her eyes brimming with tears, before falling back into a confused daze again.<p>

Despite the pounding of the rain, the paramedics wasted no time in taking Nina straight into the hospital. There was no less than a second between the vehicle stopping and Nina being whisked away. George sat in the back of the ambulance, cradling their baby in his arms and watching Nina as she disappeared inside the hospital. And all of a sudden, he was alone.

He sat perfectly still, his eyes fixed on the point at which she had left his vision. The rain carried on, getting stronger as the storm brewed in the sky above. The doors of the ambulance that had been left open in the paramedic's hurry, swung violently in the savage wind and the rain whipped through the open doors, hitting him cruelly in the face. But still, he didn't move. He knew he probably should've followed Nina inside, dutifully worrying about her. But his body felt heavy, almost as if it were tied down to the ground. He felt as if he was sinking, through the floor of the ambulance and deep underground. The sound of the rain dulled to nothing more than a soft pitter-patter in the back of George's head. He had assumed that the moment he was left alone he would completely break down, thoughts buzzing around in his head like angry bees; but it never happened. He found his head completely empty. Numb. No thoughts at all. And despite dreading the moment that he would begin to think and everything would come crashing down on him, the silence somehow seemed so much worse. He wished he could think of something, anything to fill the void. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, completely blank. It couldn't have been too long. But to George, it felt like an eternity.

"Mr Sands?" a nervous, female voice broke through his thoughts. He spun his head toward the source of the sound, startled. A young, timid looking nurse stood by the ambulance doors. Her dark hair hung from her mouse-like face and water ran down her nose.

"W-what?" George stammered, unsure quite how to react.

"I've come to see if you'd like to come inside?" She looked as if she wanted to say more but couldn't quite find the words.

"Is Nina alright?" George asked quickly, worry for her instantly colouring any remaining thoughts.

"She's been taken into surgery, the doctors can tell you more when you come in," she said. She still sounded uncertain, but slightly less reticent than before.

George sighed softly before nodding and slowly rising to his feet. He followed the young nurse through reception into one of the side rooms off the ward. He was fully aware of how awful he must have looked as he walked through entrance. People turned to stare at him, a few paused their conversations and a child took her mother's hand, watching him with wide eyes. But George didn't care anymore. He'd given up caring.

The nurse sat him down on a chair, she lay some forms down on the bed for him to fill in before shutting the door to give him some privacy George glanced over at the corner of the room where a plastic cot lined with a blanket was placed. For a second he contemplated placing their son in it, but it just felt wrong. So he just sat there, allowing the stony silence to fill the air.

The nurse looked around worriedly for a few moments before telling him, "The doctor will be in to see you soon."

And with that, she left him alone in the room.

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><p>Mitchell and Annie pulled up outside the hospital to see George being lead inside by a nurse. It had been a sluggish journey in the morning traffic with the rain slowing everything down. They hadn't spoken much while driving. Mitchell had made a few snide remarks about arrogant, road-hogging commuters. But other than that they had been almost silent.<p>

Upon spotting George, Annie reached to open the door. But Mitchell caught her hand firmly in his.

"Wait," Mitchell said. "Just give him a moment; we'll follow him inside soon."

Annie opened her mouth as if to protest but thought better of it and nodded.

"Mitchell?" she said after a moment, her voice trembling.

"What?" he asked.

"What are we going to _do_?" An edge of desperation was evident in her voice.

"Well, with hopefully I can alter the records so that the tests on the baby aren't pursued. As soon as Nina's better, they should let her out," Mitchell replied.

"No… I mean about George and Nina," Annie told him.

Mitchell sighed, defeated. It was clear he had known what she meant before but was just trying to ignore a question for which he didn't have an answer.

"I don't know, Annie…" he admitted.

"Oh," she replied softly. They sat in silence for a moment.

"Come on, let's-" Mitchell begun. He turned his head towards the ghost, just in time to see a tear slip down her cheek.

"Oh, Annie…" Mitchell said softly, stretching out his hand and rubbing her shoulder gently

"I just…" She raised her hands to her face, cupping them over her nose and mouth as she cried.

"It's going to be okay," he said, his tone steady yet sensitive.

Annie nodded through tears, whipping them away.

"Come here," Mitchell said soothingly. He cupped her face in his hands, stroking back her hair, and kissed her softly on the lips. She responded instantly, comforted by his touch. They relaxed after a couple of seconds and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her head in to rest on his shoulder.

* * *

><p>George's hand shook as he tried to fill in Nina's date of birth. His printed lettering was wobbly and the paper was dappled with tears. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take before he completely lost it.<p>

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Y-yes?" George said, whipping tears away.

The door opened and a consultant strode in.

"H-how's Nina?" George said instantly, dropping the pen.

The consultant sat down on the seat opposite him, "She's in surgery now. By the looks of things something inside her womb tore, causing a massive haemorrhage. We've managed to stitch up the worst of it and it looks as if she's going to be alright."

Relief flooded George's face and his body heaved with deep, rapid breaths. He looked as if he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

"Th-thank you," George stumbled over his words, still unable to comprehend the news.

"It is strange though… I can't understand what caused her to tear so badly. It's almost as if something physically ripped right through the womb and severed the umbilical cord but there are no visible external lacerations to the area so I can't understand what possibly could have done the damage… Did she sustain any knocks to her abdomen recently?" the consultant asked.

"N-no… Nothing at all, I don't see how it could've possibly happened…" George's voice begun to accelerate, panicking. He immediately changed the subject, "When can I see her?"

"We've given her plenty of fluids and painkiller and replacing the blood she lost, she should be out of surgery and coming round in about twenty minutes. We'll come and get you when we bring her through to recovery," he replied.

"T-thank you so much, I'm so glad she's okay. Thank you," George managed a small smile. Even though he was just trying to distract from any further questions that could be connected to what happened to them once a month, the relief on his face was genuine.

The doctor nodded, a brief smile appeared on his face but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"What?" George said after a couple of seconds, noticing the doctor's expression.

"We can see from Nina's body alone that the child was already deceased when it was born so we can't force you to test the baby, but I really recommend it," the doctor said slowly.

"N-no. No, you can't!" George stuttered; his tone growing agitated.

"You don't have to," the doctor reassured him, "but I'd recommend it to any of my patients. It could help prevent any further surprises or complications that may arise for Nina if we could examine him. Also, if we could find out what caused the loss, it would help rule out the possibility that the same problem could occur in subsequent pregnancies."

For a moment, George genuinely seemed to be considering what he said instead of just answering with blind fear. What if, what had caused his son to die was going to cause Nina more problems? What if she died because he was too selfish to let them check the baby? And what if, in a few years' time, she fell pregnant again and the same thing happened? This was bad enough, but if it was to happen again, it would utterly destroy them.

But, just as he was about to accept the offer, the promise he'd made Nina echoed into his head.

"Promise_ me no one will cut him open," she had begged him._

"_I promise. I promise I won't let anyone touch him," he'd sworn._

Images of Nina, hooked up to all sorts of monitors; locked up in containers; stared at by people; poked, prodded and hurt; tested in laboratories and murdered, purely out of fear, flashed into his mind. He couldn't do it. Mitchell was right; it had to stay a secret, no matter the cost.

George looked up at the doctor and shook his head. The doctor nodded. Disparagement filled his eyes and he left the room, taking what George had completed of the forms, with him.

George looked at the baby in his arms, wondering if he had made the right decision. He felt as if he should say something to comfort the child but he knew there was no use in it. He couldn't hear him… George wanted to cry, he really did. It just felt as if he had cried himself raw, that there was no moisture left in his body to possibly cry.

There was another knock on the door, gentler this time.

"Can I see Nina yet?" George said immediately, assuming it was the doctor coming back and jumping at the chance for a distraction.

The door swung open to reveal Annie and Mitchell. Annie still looked upset but the tears were gone. Her hand rested gently in Mitchell's.

"Oh," George muttered.

"Hi George, how are you doing?" Annie said, giving him a brave smile. Her grip on Mitchell's hand visibly tightened. He rubbed his thumb across the back of it in an attempt to comfort her.

George stared at her blankly for a moment before nodding, "Fine…"

"How's Nina?" Mitchell's tone was stronger but there was still a slight tremble to his voice.

"She's… She's okay, I think. They've stitched her up and pumped her full of fluids, painkiller and blood. We can see her in twenty minutes…" George answered slowly.

"That's great;" Mitchell smiled, before adding, "Isn't it?"

George nodded, looking down at his lap.

There was an awkward silence. No one seemed to know what to say. Annie appeared to be getting more and more jumpy by the second and eventually the tension got too much for the young ghost.

"We gotta fight-" Annie begun softly, her voice shaky. Mitchell immediately clamped his hand firmly over her mouth before she could do any damage and glanced back at George. His face was blank. Mitchell was unsure he had even heard the beginnings of Annie's outburst.

There were a few more minutes of silence before Mitchell spotted Annie pulling the same face she had pulled right before she had begun her previous rendition of Cheryl Cole's Fight for This Love.

"Um… Me and Annie are going to the food court to get some breakfast," Mitchell said hastily.

"Are we? Oh! Yeah! We are!" Annie said, pulling her features into a strained smile. "Well obviously I won't be eating anything because… You know! I don't… Eat! But still, Mitchell can have some and I'll probably just sit and watch the tea being made and other exciting things like that!" Annie's tone got faster and faster as she continued to talk. It was jumpy and high pitched, bordering on hysterical, but George didn't seem to notice.

"Uh… Yeah, that kind of stuff," Mitchell said quickly, before changing the subject. "Do you want anything?"

George shook his head sullenly.

"Okay. We'll be back before Nina's out," Mitchell told him.

And with that he grabbed Annie's hand, pulling her out of the room before she could start quoting the latest chart hit.

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><p><em>AN: Please, please, please, please review! I promise I'll love you forever if you do!_


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